When Kara comes to, she finds it almost impossible to open her eyes. It is as if someone is sticking knives into her skull. Over and over and over again. It is as if every few seconds a bucket of burning-hot oil is emptied onto her head, searing the flesh off her bones. The pain is overwhelming; it makes her feel nauseous. Even the smallest effort is too much; she feels utterly depleted.
Kara becomes aware of someone breathing near her. Each quiet inhalation is like a deafening scream to her. The tiniest of sounds have become unbearable.
She also becomes aware of something pressed against her back. Her arms seem to be spread out. She's unable to move them. Something presses against her wrists, keeping them in place. Her feet are close together. Something around her ankles restricts their movement too.
Having the sensation that she is floating and feeling the pressure against her back, Kara for a moment concludes she is lying down. Perhaps Lex cuffed her to a table? But no. Her head is bent forward, her chin on her chest. She can't be lying down.
Kara forces her eyes open. It takes a moment for the world to come into focus. With her chin still on her chest, Kara notices a marble floor beneath her. It is only then that Kara realizes she's suspended in the air.
On the marble floor she sees a large round steel base with a thick square pole in the middle of it, rising up straight into the air. She sees that her ankles are fettered by manacles that have been soldered onto the pole, about five feet off the floor, one right next to the other. They are kept closed by simple clasps that each have a piece of kryptonite pressed into them.
Raising her head slightly, Kara finally sees the figure whose breathing she must have heard. She sees his bold head, his cold eyes, his facial hair. Lex Luthor. At his feet lies a spear with a kryptonite blade. Kara knows it's what he must've pierced her side with. Kara looks down and sees a trickle of blood still flowing out of that wound.
Kara raises her head to try to make out Lena. When she catches sight of her, Kara realizes Lena hasn't moved. She's in the position Kara last saw her in, at the edge of the pew, right in front of the column. Kara wonders whether Lex has bothered tying her feet to the bench again.
Looking a few yards to her left and right, Kara realizes she's on the raised platform of the sanctuary. The altar must be behind her.
It is only when Kara looks slightly higher to catch a glimpse of her hands that she realizes Lex has put her on a cross. Her wrists are in kryptonite-fortified manacles that are attached to a steel pole that is parallel to the floor. The manacles are placed far apart.
Suddenly a voice rings out. It is as if someone has smashed a hammer into her head. The sound continues to reverberate painfully in her ears. It increases the nausea she already feels. Kara closes her eyes for a moment.
When she opens them again, they're met by Lex's smirk.
"Well, well, well," he says, looking very pleased with himself. Turning his head slightly to face some imaginary congregation in the cathedral below, he declaims, "Look at her now! The girl of steel! Our savior!" His voice is dripping with sarcasm.
Lex picks up the spear. "Are you ready to die on the cross for the sins of your people?", he asks in a low, sonorous voice.
Lex raises the spear into the air and puts the tip into the wound in Kara's side. He pushes it in further. Kara cries out in pain. The cathedral starts spinning around her. She lets her head hang. In the distance she can hear a muffled howl. She knows it's Lena, reacting to her agony.
When the worst waves of the nausea and dizziness have subsided, Kara slowly opens her eyes again.
Lex remains where he was, spear in hand, looking at her with what looks like dismay.
He shakes his head, let's out a deep sigh, and says, "Kara Zor-El, you disappoint me."
Then he frowns and adds, "Actually, you offend me".
Seemingly pleased with this corrected assessment, Lex straightens his back. He puts the end of the spear on the floor, parallel to his body, like a soldier in the Roman legions.
Looking up at Kara again, he explains himself. "You show up here unprepared, unheedful, like a lamb to the slaughter. Do you really think so little of me?"
Lex pretends to sulk. He puts the spear down and crosses his arms.
"You make it so easy for me," he says like a whiny teenager. "Where's the fun in that?"
He looks around for a moment and then adds, "You see, all I needed was a hologram that gives off a heat signature, some lead, and a little kryptonite." Lex shrugs. "C'est tout."
Lex looks immensely pleased with himself. Realizing he forgot one thing, he quickly adds, "Oh, and a simple device to interfere with your radio signal to the DEO. I do hate party crashers, don't you?"
Lex makes his way down from the sanctuary and walks over to where Lena's sitting.
"You see," he says, "when you pay a lot of money for the extensive renovations of a cathedral, people tend to not mind if you ask them for a few small favors."
Lex puts his hand against the huge stone column next to Lena. As he touches it, the front part of the column, about six feet high, opens like a door. Lex steps inside the hollow lead-lined column. The door closes. The column now looks identical again to all the other columns in the cathedral. The door reopens and Lex, all smug and triumphant, re-emerges.
He takes a few steps, then stops and says, "Oh, and when I say 'a little kryptonite', I of course mean 'a lot of kryptonite'."
Lex grins and turns to Lena.
"My darling, brilliant sister," he says, actually sounding like a proud older brother, "found out how to make kryptonite." He turns his head to look at Kara and adds gloatingly, "Did she tell you?"
Lex walks towards the aisle in the middle of the cathedral. Looking in every direction, he says, "You see, there is enough kryptonite in this cathedral, of course nicely stored in lead containers for now, to kill a whole army of Kryptonians. For you I've taken out only the spear, the bits we used for the fetters, and the beautiful kryptonite crown I had made especially for you."
Lex smiles. "Yes, I know. I wish I could show you too," he says, "You'll have to trust me; it's a true piece of art."
Clearly enjoying his pontificating tremendously, Lex continues to walk around the upper part of the nave with a light tread.
"Why so much kryptonite?, you may ask," he says as he turns to Kara. "Well Supergirl," he face turns sour as he utters the name, "although I'm not much of an angler myself, please allow me to explain using the following fishing metaphor."
Lex slowly walks towards the sanctuary, stopping just before the five or six steps that lead onto the raised area.
"You see, my dear sister over there is like a worm. One of those nice little worms you use to catch a nice little fish. And you Ms Danvers, are the nice little fish I caught with the nice little worm."
Lex takes a moment to think and then continues. "Now having a nice little fish is pleasant enough. But why not use the nice little fish to catch the big fish you've always wanted?"
Her blood boiling, Kara tries to speak. All she can muster is a hoarse whisper.
"I'm sorry?," Lex Luthor says, obviously surprised to hear Kara's attempt to speak. "Did you want to say something?"
He walks the few steps that lead onto the sanctuary and stands right below Kara, raising one ear to her in exaggerated fashion and cupping it with his hand.
"If you think Superman will come, you're crazy," Kara mutters. As she forces the words out of her, Kara hopes with everything she's got that Alex decided against sending word to Clark.
Lex, to her surprise, seems annoyed with her petty insult.
"Kara, Kara, Kara," he spits out. "What would you know of madness and genius?", he says, looking at her condescendingly. "If it weren't for the earth's yellow sun, you, Kara Danvers, would be the epitome of bland mediocrity."
Lex turns around and leaves the sanctuary. He slowly walks down the cathedral's choir and stops at the top of the nave. He raises his arms and looks up at the vaulted ceiling, like a worshipper inviting the Holy Spirit to descend upon him. Taking in the vastness of the cathedral, he walks around for a few moments.
His arms still raised, he faces Kara, and in a loud, dramatic voice which reverberates through the cathedral exclaims, "When the Kryptonian god finally comes down from the heavens to save his kin, it is then that the reign of the false gods will come to an end! And mankind will be rejoice! And mankind will be free!"
Seemingly drunk on his own voice, Lex continues as if in ecstasy, "The things I have planned for him, Supergirl! It will be glorious! You wait and see!"
Kara desperately wants to put him down, tell him to shut up, but she lacks the strength to speak.
Instead Lex puts down his arms and walks towards her. "You don't look too happy," he observes with amusement. "Anything the matter?"
He stares at her for a few moments. Then a huge grin appears on his face. "I'm so sorry," he says facetiously. "I see what you mean. If we're going to do this, we should do it right."
Lex picks up the spear and holds the end with both hands. He reaches it high above his head and puts the tip against the palm of Kara's hand. With a great deal of focus, he slowly pushes the kryptonite point through the skin of her palm. Blood drops onto the marble tiles of the sanctuary floor. Lex pushes it in a bit deeper, trying to make the hole larger. Kara lets out an infernal shriek. She's not sure how much more her body can take.
Lex raises the spear to her other hand, when suddenly he stops. Kara realizes a noise in the cathedral has distracted him. There's a rustling sound, then a loud thud followed by a bang. Then all is silent again. Kara quickly scans the cathedral. There's no movement. Then suddenly she sees Lena lying on the stone floor in front of the pew on which she'd been sitting. She's still gagged and her hands and feet are still tightly bound.
Lex drops the spear and runs over to Lena. She's lying immobile on the floor. Lex takes off her gag. He puts his arms around her torso and drags her back onto the bench. She sits there slumped, blood streaming down her forehead.
For all his earlier bravado, Lex seems uncertain what to do. Kara can tell it takes him a lot of effort to prevent Lena from sliding off the bench or toppling over. It's an awkwardly touching scene: the mass murderer clumsily trying to help the sister he kidnapped.
When Lena comes to, her body stiffens. She sits up straight. Lex lets go of her, wiping some sweat off his brow with his upper arm.
"Now, now," he says, sounding like a parent scolding a naughty child. "What was that good for?"
When Lena speaks, it is so quiet, Kara is surprised she can hear her. "You're killing her" is her desperate message.
Lex chuckles, "Yes, dear sister. That is the plan."
Confident now that Lena is unlikely to fall over again, Lex takes a few steps back.
"But don't you worry," he says, "I don't intend to kill her before Superman gets here."
Lex turns around and walks over to Kara.
"Supergirl," he says, looking at Kara semi-conscious on his makeshift cross.
"Since this will be the last time we'll ever see each other, I'll be honest with you. When I told Lena your secret, I was sure it would make her despise you. She would finally know you lied to her, betrayed her, used her, manipulated her. She would know you aren't any better than your cousin. The truth would set her free. She would return to her family and together we would finally rid this planet of all Kryptonians and other extraterrestrial vermin."
Lex looks genuinely sad for a moment. He swallows hard and continues.
"But then on Sunday morning I talk to an old business partner and he tells me he saw you two together at a fundraiser."
Lex turns around to Lena and says menacingly, "I haven't forgiven you, by the way. The letters?! The Rembrandts?!"
Lex turns back to Kara. "I knew my sister didn't have the stomach for the long con. To keep up pretenses to exact the ultimate revenge. Once upon a time she would have. She would've come up with the perfect plan and executed it with relish. But not anymore."
Lex continues to look sad for a moment but then seems to shake it off. He shrugs and says, "But then I realized I didn't need Lena to hate you to have her help me kill you. Her love would do just as well."
Looking pleased with himself, Lex continues, "I called her to let her know I was alive, wanted you dead, and had the perfect plan to do it. She immediately wanted in. She said she wanted vengeance. I knew she wanted to find out what the plan was to protect you, to save you." Lex rolls his eyes. "She didn't even hesitate to come meet me."
He turns to Lena. "For someone so smart you can be incredibly stupid."
Kara feels herself fill with anger. She knows Lena will blame herself. How dare he do this to her again?
Kara pulls her hands down violently in an attempt to break free. The pain immediately overwhelms her. Kara gasps. She feels herself on the verge of passing out. She closes her eyes and tries to remain as still as possible.
When she slowly opens her eyes again, it takes a few seconds before her eyes regain their focus.
Lex is looking at her with a stunned expression. "A bit of a masochist, are we?" Then he shrugs and says, "Where was I?" He glances around him, looks up at Kara and then suddenly exclaims, "Ah, yes!". His eyes light up. "The stigmata!"
Lex picks up the spear and raises it up to Kara's other hand. He pushes it into Kara's hand with such force that she feels it going right through. As Lena's soul-crushing howl fills the entire cathedral, Kara slips back into unconsciousness.
